Think of Israel's parched, moonscape Negev Desert, sweltering this summer under a historically severe drought, and the last thing you'd imagine is shrimp. Not only are the crinkly crustaceans a very un-kosher dish in the Jewish state, they are also an aquatic creature more at home, presumably, in seas than in sand. Yet the raising of shrimp--and lobster, eel and a variety of fish--is among the experiments in innovative agriculture being conducted by today's pioneers of the Negev.

Think of Israel's parched, moonscape Negev Desert, sweltering this summer under a historically severe drought, and the last thing you'd imagine is shrimp. Not only are the crinkly crustaceans a very un-kosher dish in the Jewish state, they are also an aquatic creature more at home, presumably, in seas than in sand. Yet the raising of shrimp--and lobster, eel and a variety of fish--is among the experiments in innovative agriculture being conducted by today's pioneers of the Negev.

Chile's fruit isn't the first to fall prey to sabotage. In 1978, a dozen Europeans in at least three countries became ill after eating Israeli oranges, lemons and grapefruit that had been tainted with mercury. A group of Palestinian extremists took responsibility for the poisoning, saying its goal was to "sabotage the Israeli economy." Europe responded by boycotting Israeli citrus for a time, dealing a heavy blow to that nation's fragile finances.

The first fruits of Israel's peace with Jordan--a 20-ton truckload of ripe tomatoes bound for Israel--were turned back at the border crossing Thursday by Jordanian agricultural officials. The tomato turnaround at the Jordan River--ordered because the fruit was of inferior quality--was bad news for Israeli consumers. They are suffering a tomato shortage that is causing near-panic in a society that commonly eats the acidic fruit at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Israeli Agriculture Minister Rafael Eitan held an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss his country's imperiled water supply after a government report indicated that Israel is on the verge of a critical shortage. Eitan, a former general, announced after the meeting that he would not fire Water Commissioner Tsemah Ishai, although Ishai came under pungent criticism in the report by Israel's state comptroller, Miriam Ben-Porat. But Eitan left no doubt as to the seriousness of the shortage.

Israel set up emergency telephone hot lines and readied cropdusting planes to fly into action against a possible plague of locusts, the desert insects feared since biblical times. Officials said dark, cloud-like swarms of locusts were spotted in Egypt's Sinai Desert, and smaller numbers were seen in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Shifting winds would determine whether the pests would cross into Israel.

Jericho has long been one of the most peaceful backwaters in this contested land, but it was in the front lines Friday--in the latest bizarre skirmish in what Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir has called "a war against the existence of the state of Israel." The tactical objective of the Israeli army was to break a partial commercial strike that has been one of the most successful elements of the 100-day-old Palestinian uprising in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"I've lived here for 30 years," said Carmel Shabbat, secretary of this Israeli agricultural settlement in the Judean hills, "and I've never seen fires like this." In the space of a few hours, wind-whipped flames had destroyed 70% of the settlement's peach orchards, as well as wiping out 1,500 to 2,000 acres of forest nearby. The fires traveled quickly, scorching the yellowing grass into huge black patches on the side of the area's rolling hills.

While California debates how best to attack a stubborn infestation of the Mediterranean fruit fly, the option of eradication already has bypassed this tropical state and most other agricultural producing regions of the world, forcing farmers to find ways to coexist with the feared pest. In Hawaii, Central America, Israel and elsewhere, the permanent establishment of the Medfly has not meant wholesale destruction of farming.

The Palestinian uprising against Israel, most often an uneven struggle of Arab rocks against Israeli bullets, is also becoming a war over figs, grapes, olives and even donkeys. As part of its effort to subdue rebellious Palestinians, Israel is striking at the heart of the rural economy on the occupied West Bank of the Jordan River.

Israeli Agriculture Minister Rafael Eitan held an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss his country's imperiled water supply after a government report indicated that Israel is on the verge of a critical shortage. Eitan, a former general, announced after the meeting that he would not fire Water Commissioner Tsemah Ishai, although Ishai came under pungent criticism in the report by Israel's state comptroller, Miriam Ben-Porat. But Eitan left no doubt as to the seriousness of the shortage.

While California debates how best to attack a stubborn infestation of the Mediterranean fruit fly, the option of eradication already has bypassed this tropical state and most other agricultural producing regions of the world, forcing farmers to find ways to coexist with the feared pest. In Hawaii, Central America, Israel and elsewhere, the permanent establishment of the Medfly has not meant wholesale destruction of farming.

Chile's fruit isn't the first to fall prey to sabotage. In 1978, a dozen Europeans in at least three countries became ill after eating Israeli oranges, lemons and grapefruit that had been tainted with mercury. A group of Palestinian extremists took responsibility for the poisoning, saying its goal was to "sabotage the Israeli economy." Europe responded by boycotting Israeli citrus for a time, dealing a heavy blow to that nation's fragile finances.

The Palestinian uprising against Israel, most often an uneven struggle of Arab rocks against Israeli bullets, is also becoming a war over figs, grapes, olives and even donkeys. As part of its effort to subdue rebellious Palestinians, Israel is striking at the heart of the rural economy on the occupied West Bank of the Jordan River.

"I've lived here for 30 years," said Carmel Shabbat, secretary of this Israeli agricultural settlement in the Judean hills, "and I've never seen fires like this." In the space of a few hours, wind-whipped flames had destroyed 70% of the settlement's peach orchards, as well as wiping out 1,500 to 2,000 acres of forest nearby. The fires traveled quickly, scorching the yellowing grass into huge black patches on the side of the area's rolling hills.

Israel set up emergency telephone hot lines and readied cropdusting planes to fly into action against a possible plague of locusts, the desert insects feared since biblical times. Officials said dark, cloud-like swarms of locusts were spotted in Egypt's Sinai Desert, and smaller numbers were seen in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Shifting winds would determine whether the pests would cross into Israel.

Politics, religion, the Middle East peace process and what some people suggest is just plain greed have become fused in a peculiarly Israeli way to produce a heated controversy involving, among others: farmers and bakers, the Labor and Likud political groupings, the ultra-Orthodox community, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sounds complicated, right?

A diverse group of Israelis with little in common except leathery persistence and a sharp nose for opportunity is hoping to take a giant bite out of an obscure but growing $500-million worldwide market. You could call them farmers, but while their Zionist predecessors drained the swamps to raise citrus and vegetables, these modern Israelis create new marshes in order to "grow" their crop--crocodiles whose skins will later be turned into shoes, handbags and wallets.

Jericho has long been one of the most peaceful backwaters in this contested land, but it was in the front lines Friday--in the latest bizarre skirmish in what Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir has called "a war against the existence of the state of Israel." The tactical objective of the Israeli army was to break a partial commercial strike that has been one of the most successful elements of the 100-day-old Palestinian uprising in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Politics, religion, the Middle East peace process and what some people suggest is just plain greed have become fused in a peculiarly Israeli way to produce a heated controversy involving, among others: farmers and bakers, the Labor and Likud political groupings, the ultra-Orthodox community, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sounds complicated, right?